As some may know... The memory of my computer, holding all of our pictures, has been erased (thanks apple). Thanks to the blog, we have most moments documented, except for our eventful trip to pick up 6000 lbs (3 tons) of Frontenac grapes in Decorah, IA, our delivery of Chambourcin grapes from Illinois, and the processing of both. We are going to send it in to see if anything can be recovered, but as for now, we must go on. ;o)

10.6.10

The building has been growing quite quickly this month. It is exciting to see the design all coming together in real life, vs. on drawings or a computer.

With an interesting site comes and interesting road. Able Boulevard (where the winery is), has never really had ditches. So, when it rained --- huge gullies would form on the sides of the road. Not the safest road to travel... The county came in and dug ditches, made the road wider, and raised it a bit. Ready for traffic.

We have accepted that the post pounding will never end... We finally began pounding posts on the Frontenac Gris vineyard located on the North end. The vines started hardening off right on schedule, from a tender green shoot-to a hardened cinnamon colored cane. Bring on the Frost!

10.7.10

The drywall, taping, and mudding was completed in the production area, and we were on duty to paint. Thankfully, Dad had a paint sprayer. That made the job a whole lot easier and quicker with 12 ft side walls and 16 ft in the center. It took 3 coats of paint-Will spraying and me rolling to make it even.

We are still waiting for some of the duct work to be completed for the cellar, lab, utility room, and barrel room. So, the whole process in those rooms has been put on hold...

Our 1/2 acre of Frontenac Gris has been deficient in care the past month... The vines grew, and without anything to hold on to, their growth covered the row middles, making it difficult to mow, so, it felt good to get started on the post pounding.

10.8.10 | Great night for a fire...

10.9.10 | More work in the Frontenac Gris Vineyard

10.10.10 | Delivery!

Bound to be a day of luck, our 5 ton glycol chiller and barrel racks arrive. The glycol chiller will circulate chilled glycol through the "jackets" that surround the tanks to allow us to perform cool fermentations (fruitier wines), cold stabilization, and other fermentation procedures...

10.12.10 | Tanks! Finally!

We had been waiting for our tanks for weeks... From one salesperson to the next, it was hard to get a straight story of when the tanks would be coming, and where they actually were during transport. By the time we received them, we were just happy to see they existed.

10.14.10 - Tanks in production with bubble wrap.

10.13.10 | Building Progress.

10.16.10 | Tastes of Autumn Event | Women's Club of Larchwood

We had a great time in Larchwood at this event! Click HERE to see story and photos.

10.19.10 | Prepping for Concrete.

RC Concrete Construction back to begin the prep work for the event area on the West side of the building. Once this is poured, it can be framed and we will be one step closer to being ready for the snow to fly...

10.21.10 | Setting it Up.

Will working on the tanks... Here he is working on the lid of the variable capacity tanks. These are made so that the lid can be adjusted to the level of the wine, then the gasket around the lid is pumped with air to make it air tight and there is less room for oxygen to touch the wine reducing the risk of oxidation.

10.22.10 | Staining the Siding. | Outside.

This might take a while...

10.23.10 | Staining the Siding. | Semi-indoors as the temps. decrease and rain is in the forecast.

10.26.10 | BURR!

The vineyard is looking quite a bit thinner these days after our severe winds and inevitable freezing temps. The vines were ready for it, however, and the shoots had hardened off.

10.27.10 | Staining the Siding. | Inside a semi-insulated building as the snow falls and wind blows.